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The ellipse and the five-centred arch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Paul L. Rosin and
Michael L.V. Pitteway
Paul L. Rosin
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, Cardiff University, PO Box 916, Cardiff CF24 3XF. emails: paul.Rosin@cs.cf.ac.uk, Milk.Pitteway@brunel.ac.uk
Michael L.V. Pitteway
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, Cardiff University, PO Box 916, Cardiff CF24 3XF. emails: paul.Rosin@cs.cf.ac.uk, Milk.Pitteway@brunel.ac.uk
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Extract

There has been a long history in the approximation of ellipses by circular arcs in order to simplify their construction and manipulation. Such approximation was of use for a wide variety of applications, in fields such as mathematics (generating figures), astronomy (analysing orbits), art (marking out large oval frames for ceiling painting), architecture (building masonry arches, floor plans, etc), and, more recently, the conversion of fonts from a general conic specification to circular arcs. Documented evidence goes as far back as the Italian Renaissance when various schemes were published by the architect Sebastiano Serlio in the sixteenth century. More contentiously, it has been argued that fifteen centuries previously the Romans used such approximations when designing and building their amphitheatres.

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Articles
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The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 85 , Issue 502 , March 2001, pp. 13 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 2001

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